Vallejo's community access television fears signal soon will be lost

The fiscal net for Vallejo's community access television channel is so thin that board members said all funding will be gone by December.

The nonprofit Community Access Television Station (VCAT) could cease operations if nothing is done to bring in more money in the next two months, said both board chairman John Kelly, and board vice chairman James Canady.

The VCAT station broadcasts on Comcast Cable Channel 27 and has a television studio at the Jesse Bethel High School campus. Most work is by volunteers, though the station has two part-time employees.

Kelly said the station is facing dire economic times, and has about $4,000 left in its budget, Kelly said.

"Once that's gone, we're done," Kelly said.

VCAT airs a variety of community shows and programming, such as the Fourth of July parade, marketing shows and concerts, talks and forums.

But while VCAT board members say the station is rapidly running out of money, the city has about $250,000 in a cable television account.

The board wants to use that money to keep the station afloat.

"It should be fairly obvious to anybody we don't have the support of the city in dollars and cents to be able to do the scope of services the city wants us to do," Kelly said.

Assistant City Manager Craig Whittom, however, said those funds can only be spent on capital projects, not station operations.

Whittom said the city does support VCAT and wants to help. A proposal goes before the City Council on Oct. 11 in an effort to provide some financial relief, he said.

"VCAT is an important partner," Whittom said.

A discussion on the restricted funds and how the city might provide more long-term support for the station could occur at that council meeting, he added.

The restricted money stems from the Digital Infrastructure and Video Competition Act (DIVCA) passed in 2006. This resulted in fees on individual cable bills to help support local cable access channels, Kelly said.

Canady said VCAT wants more information on why the station can't use that money.

While the city may be able to release the money for capital equipment and similar items, Kelly said it's no good if there is no one to operate them and no funds to keep those items in good working condition.

The DIVCA legislation shifted cities' authority to negotiate cable television franchise agreements to the state, said Sue Buske, a cable television consultant.

The DIVCA law put restrictions on future revenues, but those new regulations were not meant to degrade local cable access programming, Buske said

It's possible the city is taking an overly conservative view, Buske said. A flexible approach might be possible so the station could use that money for operations. Buske and her Buske Group consulting firm has worked on numerous cable television issues in Vallejo.

That law also called for Comcast to provide 1 percent of its revenues to VCAT after the city's cable television franchise agreement ran out in 2009, Buske said.

VCAT has been existing on that funding which is about to run out, board members said.

City Councilwoman Erin Hannigan, who's worked with the volunteer VCAT board since March on funding issues, said she wants staff to explore options of how those DIVCA funds can be used.

"The reality is that the station needs that money for operations," Hannigan said. "It's worth looking into."

"VCAT is too valuable to let go," she added.

Hannigan said the city needs to learn how other cities are using their funds for cable community action channels.

Meanwhile, VCAT board members, volunteers and others are exploring how they might bring in funding to keep the doors open.

Canady said the station needs about $50,000 a year to keep running, though others put the figure closer to $80,000.

Vallejo businesswoman Patrice Williams, who airs a program to give free advice to business owners, said the board has launched an SOS (Save Our Station) campaign to get the word out about VCAT's fiscal condition.

Fundraisers and public service announcements about the station's fiscal condition are in the works, she said.

"It takes about $80,000 a year to run VCAT which isn't a whole lot. We just feel like. If the community knew those numbers, they would rally behind the VCAT," Williams said.